The SDFLA Blog is dedicated to providing news and notes regarding federal practice in the Southern District of Florida. The New Times calls the blog "the definitive source on South Florida's federal court system." All tips on court happenings are welcome and will remain anonymous. Please email David Markus at dmarkus@markuslaw.com

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Quick hits

1. En banc 11th Circuit, per Judge Pryor, rules that Orlando can place limits on feeding homeless without violating First Amendment. CSM coverage of the case here:

In a decision announced Tuesday, a federal appeals court ruled against the group, Orlando Food Not Bombs, and gave a green light to city officials to enforce an ordinance restricting weekly feeding of the homeless in downtown parks.

“The city is in a far better position than this court to determine how best to manage the burden that large group feedings place on neighborhoods in the city,” Circuit Judge William Pryor wrote for the unanimous decision of the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.

3. Via Jay Weaver, ICE chief on paid administrative leave. AOL snitched him out: The head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement for South Florida has been placed on paid administrative leave, as federal agents investigate four images of child pornography he allegedly received on his home computer via an AOL e-mail account, according to sources familiar with the probe.

4. Front page story about my friend Alfred Spellman and his partner Billy Corben, who are just tearing it up at age 32! Their latest flick, Square Grouper, looks great:

He and Alfred Spellman, both 32, started filming documentaries with their friend David Cypkin when they were in high school, Corben at New World School of the Arts and Spellman and Cypkin at North Miami Beach Senior High School. Now their formerly self-staffed group rakontur employs six full-timers in their Miami Beach house-cum-office.

Even with that growing staff, it’s hard to believe they’ve produced half a dozen award-winning feature-length documentaries, including The U, part of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series. Or that the Miami premiere of their new documentary Square Grouper on Thursday is the first of five premieres set for 2011. Another five full-length features are planned for 2012. Up until now, the group had released about one a year.

1 comment:

The Southern District of Florida blog was started by David Oscar Markus, who is a criminal trial and appellate lawyer in Miami, Florida. He frequently practices in federal courts around the country, including his hometown, the Southern District of Florida and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. He is a former law clerk to then-Chief Judge of the District, Edward B. Davis.